Pigeons not pincushions: Info sought in Jurong West dart-attack

A pigeon with two darts puncturing its body. Photo: ACRES/Facebook
A pigeon with two darts puncturing its body. Photo: ACRES/Facebook

An animal group today appealed for information online after two pigeons were injured by darts in Jurong West. 

The appeal came from the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society, or ACRES, after a passer-by who rescued one of the birds tipped them off Friday that the animals appeared injured by a blow darts.

“We identified the darts to be blow gun darts (of about 10 cm in length) and we suspect that some individual/s has access to a blow pipe or a dart gun in this location or the surrounding area and has used it on these birds,” the group’s post read. It was shared more than 500 times in less than three hours.

The incident happened in Block 864 Jurong West Street 81. They were unable to rescue another injured pigeon that got away.

The rescued pigeon, found with a single dart, was to undergo a procedure to have it removed, ACRES said in its appeal today. The pigeon that got away was stabbed in its chest and under its wing by two darts, a photo showed. 

“It is not only an act of cruelty and violence to put the innocent birds through pain and suffering, but possession of such weapons or sale of such items online should be strictly regulated considering the pain they can cause to any animal or human on whom it is targeted at,” it added. 

The group has reported the matter to the police and NParks, which oversees the Animal and Veterinary Service, or AVS. 

Animal cruelty has become common in Singapore. The amount of feedback relating to animal cruelty and welfare between 2015 and 2018 rose from 840 to 2,490 cases, according to the AVS.

Related:

Singaporean accused of beating, burning Pom surrenders to Thai authorities
Animal abuse petition hits 50,000 signatures as Platinium Dogs Club raided and investigated



Reader Interactions

Leave A Reply


BECOME A COCO+ MEMBER

Support local news and join a community of like-minded
“Coconauts” across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.

Join Now
Coconuts TV
Our latest and greatest original videos
Subscribe on